Vision had agreed to meet her brother before going to Gretta’s. Fox was a large man and she saw him coming in plenty of time to prepare a scowl. There were not too many people willing to scowl at Fox, so doing so had a certain novelty. Fox was taller than most men, and carried a respectable amount of muscle. His shock of fiery red hair only made him all the more striking. He looked almost nothing like Vision, but for the pale green eyes they had both inherited from their mother, which was no real surprise given that their fathers had been different men. He was about to inform her that he wasn’t coming to see Celia with her, she could see it in his posture.
“Hey, Vis. Busy day?”
She kicked at a pebble, “I ain’t done shit.”
Fox frowned and she frowned right back.
“I’m doing everything else today,” she snapped, “You ain’t coming to Gretta’s, are you?”
“Well, no. Seems I have to make enough money for both of us instead.”
“You weren’t coming anyway,” she accused.
He let out a frustrated huff.
“You’d better make sure things go well at Gretta’s, mind. Don’t let Celia fuck anything up.”
“If you came, you could see it went however you want.”
“Vis, stop. Quit bitching every time you have to get off your ass and do something.”
She rolled her eyes, then froze as she caught sight of a man standing in the alcove of a building across the road. Fox followed her eyeline, then grinned and waved at his crew leader, Red. For his part, Red waved them over. Fox started to move, and Vision reluctantly followed in his wake. The crowds in the east side slums tended to push back. When Vision was alone, she usually had to dance and weave to make it anywhere. With Fox, it was different. He moved and through virtue of sheer force, the sea of people parted before him. It used to make her feel powerful, walking with her brother, watching people jump aside. Untouchable. In more recent times, she had only been keenly aware of the eyes upon her as she passed by.
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There were two other members of the crew, lounging on the wall beside Red. That meant they were almost all in attendance; the only ones who were absent were Bones and Glass. It was a smaller crew than the one they’d abandoned two years back. Her hope had been that it would be safer than the one they’d fled. The reality was only that it was more intimate. Red watched her now, with a familiar possessive glint in his terrible muddy eyes. That looked stirred panic in the primal, animal part of her mind. She took a step closer to Fox’s side. He didn’t always let her shy into him – he wasn’t interested in ‘feeding her fear’ as he put it – but this time he allowed it. He didn’t agree with her that Red posed any harm. Just because their last boss in Awnn had intended to hurt her, he’d say, didn’t mean there was anything to worry about now. His assurances never made her feel safe. She just couldn’t quiet her instincts. There was something dark in Red’s soul.
The others all admired Red. He was quick-witted, sharp-tongued, and had a sense of humour, as much as a man who commanded thieves could. They admired his bravery, and respected the puckered scar on his face, where he’d cut out his theif’s brand. It didn’t matter that he was short, or thin, or that his left hand was withered and crippled. He played people like instruments, and planned jobs where everyone came out alive and more importantly, considerably richer. She loathed him. Every time his eyes brushed her, she felt an undertone of menace, a secret promise. Glass may not have noticed, but she wasn’t certain about the other men. He was good to them, she knew. Even Fox might have known, deep down, that Vision was right. On a subconscious level, he might be choosing not to notice the threat to his sister.
“Hello, you two,” said Red, “We thought we’d say hi before Vision gets going.”
Fox nodded, with a smile. Beside Red, Fists, their muscle, was glaring at her. Lefty, a grizzled older man, past his years as a mercenary, elbowed him. Red glanced at them and nodded.
“Fists saw Vision and Glass having a bit of a break this morning, when they were meant to be working. Lefty and I assured him that it was okay, because we knew you’d be working hard, Fox, and Vision will be busy later.”
“That’s right,” Fox said, “Anyway, here.”
He offered a coin purse, which Red counted. The crew leader withdrew a portion of the coins and returned Fox’s share. Vision was frozen. Did Red know about she and Glass? She couldn’t say, by looking at him. Maybe Fists had only seen them sitting together, or maybe he hadn’t cared to pass on any more than that. The thug himself wasn’t interested in Vision. He may not have thought to mention something as trivial as a kiss.
“I should get going,” she said.
Her voice sounded strained to her ears. Red smiled widely.
“Good luck, little Vision. We’ll see you this evening.”
She started to pick her way through the crowd, moving away as quickly as she could without running. She wanted to bury herself in the throng, and escape those damned eyes.